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Practice Projects

1. Compare and contrast the Confessions with another work of autobiography. (Suggestions include Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, Gertrude Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, or the Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X with Alex Haley.) What are the authors' goals in telling their life stories? What strategies do they use to give shape to the events of their lives?

2. Augustine presents a distinctly Christian story in the Confessions. Critique Augustine's assumptions about the relationship between God and humanity from the point of view of another world religion, such as Islam or Buddhism, or from an atheist viewpoint.

3. Create an outline for your own autobiography. What events would you choose to include and why? Do you find any pattern or significance to the events in your life? How reliable are your memories of your life? What impression of yourself would you want to leave with your readers?